[danamer]

Hello folks.

We are family in our late 20's with 2 kids 6 and 10 and are moving from Princeton, NJ area (Plainsboro) to New Haven, as my husband got a job at Yale.
We are renting currently a 2 bed townhouse with loft 1450 sqft for 1600$ + utilities.
We look to rent in New Haven area as well at least for the first year.
We are looking for some nice town outside of New Haven with the similar feel of Princeton, not super expensive and with the good school system, especially noticing that our son is delayed and he was receiving in our West-Windsor-Plainsboro district special IEP program, he is not autistic, just had delay in speech and fell one year behind. So we are looking for some district which is friendly in this way and has some programs as well if he will require.
We were looking into Milford, Branford or North Haven, but not sure about their school programs and districts in general. We looked into greatshools.org and something comparable to WW-P or Princeton shool districts will be Orange, Woodbridge, Guilford, Madison or Cheshire, but there are not a lot of rentals.
Also we were looking into renting at Grand Reserve Orange in Orange, CT but zillow tells us that their address belongs to West Haven School District and not Amity School District, even though when I called them they said that it is indeed in Amity School District, so I do not know who to believe. If someone can verify that would be great.
Also another question about the schools: Is it true that in Ct you can choose neighbor school to go to even if your address doesn't fall under their boundaries?
Other than schools we just want some friendly, family-oriented town with convenience of shopping and amenities for kids where we can make new friends for us and for kids as well and also if we could get out somewhere in evenings as a couple to some restaurants, bars, shopping areas e.t.c.

Thank you for suggestions in advance.

[Stylo]

Can't go wrong with Branford, Milford, or North Haven. Orange is a good choice too. Milford has the most rentals out of all of those, and you might want to check out Spinnaker Rentals - Prospect Falls is an especially nice new complex within walking distance to downtown/harbor. An acquaintance with an autistic child actually had more luck in Milford schools than Amity.

Grand Reserve is absolutely in the Amity district. It goes by town in every single CT municipality. There's nothing wrong with Orange, but I'm not a fan of where Grand Reserve is personally. It's really close to busy thoroughfares and abuts West Haven pretty closely. I like the areas in Orange north of Route 1 best.

You're looking at all the right towns. Some have more shopping/bars/restaurants than others. Branford and Milford have excellent little downtown areas with events, etc. Explore the area a bit and see what feels right. You can't go wrong IMHO.

[danamer]

Thank you Stylo.

We are looking either into Milford or North Haven right now.
But will drive next weekend for a few days to take a detailed look .

[Stylo]

It's important to explore. Check out the center of town in North Haven and Milford. The historic centers, not their commercial strips.

Milford offers more from an activity/restaurant/things-to-do standpoint, but the commute from North Haven will be a little easier - especially until they finish the bridge project in NH. That is, unless the train is an option for the commute.

[PhxSuns333]

Milford and North Haven are both great places to look. Like Stylo said, don't judge them based on their commercial strips, as sometimes people use that to judge the entire town without really exploring their downtown/center areas. They both have a tons of shopping/dining. Both also have some nice events and a lot to do, so I think you'll like either. The nice thing about Milford is its beautiful beaches, as well as its harbor and duck ponds (located in downtown). I think you'll enjoy either.

By the way downtown Milford does not even touch Route 1 (Boston Post Road). Sometimes people confuse that part of Devon along Route 1 towards Stratford as downtown.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by PhxSuns333

Like Stylo said, don't judge them based on their commercial strips, as sometimes people use that to judge the entire town without really exploring their downtown/center areas.

Yet another Milford recommendation from PhxSuns! I will agree that Milford is not a bad choice in this case. Personally, I like the feel of North Haven better, but Milford is a solid choice too.

I know Milford like the back of my hand, but still feel that because of the eyesore that is Route 1, Milford is too busy (for me, at least). I'm well aware of what consists of downtown.

[Stylo]

Hmm, I don't consider it any more of an eyesore than any major commercial strip in CT, there's just one stretch after the Devon walkable area that's rundown-ish. Smaller commercial areas like North Haven or Brookfield definitely have a nicer appearance and are less busy. But those towns also lack an excellent downtown area.

You want eyesore? Route 1 in West Haven. Hideous.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by Stylo

You want eyesore? Route 1 in West Haven. Hideous.

Sorry but Route 1 is an eyesore from Stratford to Branford.

[Stylo]

If that's your standard, then Fairfield ain't too pretty past the center. Or Westport past downtown. Or all of Norwalk. Etc.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by Stylo

If that's your standard, then Fairfield ain't too pretty past the center. Or Westport past downtown. Or all of Norwalk. Etc.

I don't disagree, however Westport and Fairfield are generally a bit more strict with zoning than Milford is. You can't compare the congestion/empty store fronts/aesthetics of the strips between Westport and Milford.